DALLAS, Feb. 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR), a leading provider of technology-enabled, tax-focused financial solutions, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2020.
2020 Highlights and Recent Developments
- Increased total revenue by 5% year-over-year, to $755 million, including the addition of HK Financial Services (“HKFS”), on July 1
- Recorded 23rd consecutive year of segment revenue growth at TaxAct, excluding sale of SimpleTax
- Completed acquisition of HKFS, now rebranded as Avantax Planning Partners (“APP”), adding a historically fast growing, highly profitable registered investment advisor (“RIA”) and its fee-based advisory assets to the Company’s wealth management business
- Increased advisory assets 29% year-over-year, including the addition of approximately $5.0 billion in APP assets
- Increased total client assets 17% to $83.0 billion, with $35.6 billion or 42.9% in advisory assets
- Further strengthened Board of Directors with appointments of Karthik Rao, Jana Schreuder and Mark Ernst
“After an unprecedented year, I am extremely proud of our team’s focus and execution of our business plan in 2020,” said Chris Walters, Blucora’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “During the past year our new leadership team has made tremendous progress implementing our differentiated, tax-focused strategy, repositioning both Avantax and TaxAct for sustainable growth and moving forward with new plans to realize significant synergy potential between the two business units. Based on the progress and investments we made during 2020, I am optimistic about 2021 and beyond, as we execute on our plans to drive long-term earnings growth and shareholder value.”
Summary Financial Performance: Q4 and Full Year 2020 ($ in millions except per share amounts)
| Q4 | Q4 | Full Year | Full Year | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | Change | 2020 | 2019 | Change | ||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wealth Management | $ | 149.4 | $ | 145.2 | 3 | % | $ | 546.2 | $ | 508.0 | 8 | % | |||||||||||
| Tax Preparation | $ | 5.8 | $ | 4.2 | 38 | % | $ | 208.8 | $ | 210.0 | (1 | ) | % | ||||||||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 155.2 | $ | 149.4 | 4 | % | $ | 755.0 | $ | 717.9 | 5 | % | |||||||||||
| Segment Operating Income (Loss): | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wealth Management | $ | 20.4 | $ | 19.1 | 7 | % | $ | 72.2 | $ | 68.3 | 6 | % | |||||||||||
| Tax Preparation | $ | (11.0 | ) | $ | (12.3 | ) | 11 | % | $ | 49.6 | $ | 96.2 | (48 | ) | % | ||||||||
| Total Segment Operating Income | $ | 9.3 | $ | 6.8 | 37 | % | $ | 121.8 | $ | 164.5 | (26 | ) | % | ||||||||||
| Unallocated Corporate-Level General and Administrative Expenses | $ | 7.1 | $ | 7.6 | (7 | ) | % | $ | 26.7 | $ | 27.4 | (3 | ) | % | |||||||||
| GAAP: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating Loss | $ | (23.7 | ) | $ | (26.0 | ) | 9 | % | $ | (269.1 | ) | $ | — | N/A | |||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Blucora. Inc. | $ | (50.7 | ) | $ | 17.3 | (393 | ) | % | $ | (342.8 | ) | $ | 48.1 | (813 | ) | % | |||||||
| Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share Attributable to Blucora. Inc. | $ | (1.05 | ) | $ | 0.36 | (392 | ) | % | $ | (7.14 | ) | $ | 0.98 | (829 | ) | % | |||||||
| Non-GAAP: (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 2.2 | $ | (0.7 | ) | 414 | % | $ | 95.1 | $ | 137.2 | (31 | ) | % | |||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) | $ | (9.0 | ) | $ | (4.8 | ) | (88 | ) | % | $ | 54.1 | $ | 104.2 | (48 | ) | % | |||||||
| Diluted Net Income (Loss) per Share (EPS) | $ | (0.19 | ) | $ | (0.10 | ) | (90 | ) | % | $ | 1.12 | $ | 2.11 | (47 | ) | % | |||||||
____________________________ (1) See reconciliations of all non-GAAP to GAAP measures presented in this release in the tables below.
2020 Results vs. Prior Guidance| ($ in millions except per share amounts) | Prior Guidance | Actual | ||
| Wealth Management Revenue (1) | $535.5 - $540.5 | $ | 546.2 | |
| Tax Preparation Revenue | $207.0 - $208.0 | $ | 208.8 | |
| Total Revenue | $742.5 - $748.5 | $ | 755.0 | |
| Wealth Management Segment Operating Income (1) | $68.5 - $70.5 | $ | 72.2 | |
| Tax Preparation Segment Operating Income | $47.5 - $48.5 | $ | 49.6 | |
| Unallocated Corporate-Level General and Administrative Expenses | $27.5 - $26.5 | $ | 26.7 | |
| GAAP: | ||||
| Net Loss (1) | $(339.0) – $(333.0) | $ | (342.8 | ) |
| Net Loss per share (1) | $(7.05) – $(6.94) | $ | (7.14 | ) |
| Non-GAAP: | ||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (1) (2) | $88.5 - $92.5 | $ | 95.1 | |
| Non-GAAP Net Income (1) (2) | $46.0 - $51.0 | $ | 54.1 | |
| Non-GAAP Net Income per share (1) (2) | $0.95 - $1.05 | $ | 1.12 | |
_________________________ (1) Includes HKFS results from July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. (2) See reconciliations of all non-GAAP to GAAP measures presented in this release in the tables below.
Tax Season Update
“With the IRS delaying the official beginning of tax season to February 12, our tax season has only just begun. Regardless, I feel confident about the actions we have taken this season as well as the mid to long-term benefits of the investments we made in 2020 to further improve the customer experience,” Walters continued. “We have now launched our online-assisted offering to meet a significant need that has emerged in the marketplace. We have also refined our marketing to efficiently add paid customers, all while reinforcing our differentiated value position with a compelling offering. We expect these initiatives to contribute to the financial improvements we shared for this year as well as strong financial results in the mid- to long-term.”
Outlook
Given the delayed start of the tax season, the Company is not providing updated first quarter guidance for the Tax Preparation segment but rather reaffirming full year guidance of low single digit revenue growth and a minimum of $20 million of additional segment operating income relative to 2020. For the Wealth Management segment in the first quarter of 2021, the Company expects revenues of between $150 million and $155.5 million and segment operating income of between $17.0 million and $19.5 million. The Company also expects corporate unallocated expenses to be between $7.5 and $8.5 million in the period.
About Blucora®
Blucora, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCOR) is on the forefront of financial technology, a provider of data and technology-driven solutions that empower people to improve their financial wellness. Blucora operates in two segments including (i) wealth management, through its Avantax Wealth Management brand, with a collective $83 billion in total client assets as of December 31, 2020, and (ii) tax preparation, through its TaxAct business, a market leader in tax preparation software with approximately 3 million consumer and more than 23,000 professional users in 2020. With integrated tax-focused software and wealth management, Blucora is uniquely positioned to assist our customers in achieving better long-term outcomes via holistic, tax-advantaged solutions. For more information on Blucora, visit www.blucora.com.
